LOW-CARB PASTA????

Not to long ago my son-in-law, Ron, was diagnosed with diabetes. Along with his strict low-fat orders we again had to alter our menus, it was getting difficult. Then I saw a product called Dreamfields. They claimed to be a low-carb pasta. Was that possible? I imagined it tasted like s___, but I thought I'd give it a go.

I had 1.00 off coupons downloaded from their website and Smiths did carry it.

Last night I cooked it up. I didn't add the normal red sauce you would usually put on pasta because I wanted to judge the real “taste” of the noodle. I just cooked up some veggies, (mushrooms, broccoli, squash etc.) and tossed it all together. Well let me tell you, I was one surprised mama! This stuff was better tasting than even homemade pasta!

I don't know how they do it but it only has 5g of carbs per serving, about one cup. Ron was able to finally eat his full for the first time in weeks! The girls loved it too.

So if you have diabetes or are trying to lose weight this is a great way to go! Just go to their website http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/ where you can get a 1.00 off coupon. That makes the price 1.99 for one 13.25 oz box which fed 4 ½ people last night.

And one more added bonus it's made in the USA!

FINAL SAVINGS

So, got the amount saved by buying the products in my previous blog. Here's a run-down:

 BRAND NAME    COST                              STORE BRAND         COST
Clorax                     2.19                                  Value                           1.47
Tomato Sauce 2@   1.29 (2.58)                      1  Paste                           .89
C&H sugar              4.69                                   Value                           1.99
Aunt Jamima            3.99                                 corn syrup                      1.88
                               ____                                                                     _____
TOTAL SPENT     13.45                                                                       6.23

                                          TOTAL SAVINGS $7.22

Now that's a real savings and you won't even notice any difference!

GREAT SAVINGS SITE

 There is a new site I checked out called http://www.mommysavesbig.com/ They have every catagory for anyway you shop.  Online Discount Coupon Codes
Did you know you can save every time you shop online just by entering a discount coupon code on a merchants online store ? Get to know these coupon codes and never pay regular prices again.
Also, printable coupons, mail in rebates,free catalogs and magazines, sales, contest and much more.... all on one site! Put it in your favorites.
I especially like their "freebies" listings because it includes all the freebies that I've been seeking on individual sites, which takes lots of time.

Just a personal note: Since Jan. I've been sending for and saving all the freebies offered. This Christmas I'm putting them all in a big red sack for a big grab bag. We will each take turns picking a wrapped gift from the bag, then each person gets to keep theirs or demand a trade from another person. This game will replace Christmas gifts that we really can't afford this year.  It should be lots of fun......I already have over 180 freebies with two months left before xmas.

Sugar

Here's a trickery that's really sweet.......thanks to my cousin, Fay, in Jersey....

I worked for a company that had a silo in back and every three or four days we received a shipment of Domino sugar (40,000 lbs. per shipment).  With each delivery, the driver would bring in a sample for me to test before he pumped it into the silo.  During our conversation I asked him about the sugar factory where he worked and he told me that they supply all the store-brand sugar for stores such as Acme, Super Fresh, ShopRite, etc.  He said all they do is get the bags for each store and fill them, just as they did for Domino - same sugar - different brand, different bag.  So don't waste your money  buying the name brand when all the sugar comes from the same factory.

Tomato Paste

I'm not going to argue that all tomato paste taste the same so by the cheapest....that's just not true.  The taste depends on where the growing fields are, whether they ripened on the vine or were picked green, how quickly they were processed...lots goes into a good tasting paste.  I'm going to tell you something else.... Do you know what tomato paste is?  All it is is tomato sauce with the water removed!  There are recipes where you need paste and some where you need sauce. Never buy cans of sauce.  One small can of tomato paste, diluted in water, makes two 16oz cans of sauce. Now, I've seen tomato paste on sale for as little as .22 cents a can. That's very little to pay for good sauce. The easiest way to dilute it is to put the contents in a blender, add four cups of water, and turn it on....Or, if you"re making spagetti sauce just dump it all in the pot and stir.
I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and I'm getting the prices of all the things I've talked about since this blog began (I know, just three) and I'll show you the savings. I think you'll be surprised.

BLEACH IS BLEACH!

Years ago, when I still lived in Jersey, I had a friend who was a chemist.  He took samples of Clorox bleach and the store brand bleach, which was about 3.00 cheaper.  He did a chemical analysis on both and you know what he found?  BLEACH IS BLEACH!  There was no difference.  It takes certain chemicals to make bleach, leave out one and you don't have bleach.  Therefore, the higher price you're paying for the brand name is so they can give you a prettier label.  Also, when disinfecting most surfaces, 1 part bleach to 9 parts water is sufficient for sanitizing. You can't kill more germs by using more bleach.  So save money by by getting the cheapest bottle and using less.
(Note: Bleach is harmful to the enviorment at any price....  :)

Pancake syrup scam

This morning I wanted some french toast but I was out of pancake syrup.  Suddenly I remembered that my mother use to pour Karo syrup on our pancakes, not Aunt Jemimia or Log Cabin or any such brand name. So I began to wonder if my mother was cheap, crazy or both. I had a bottle of store brand corn syrup in the cupboard and I checked the ingredients. Then I went online and found the ingredients in a bottle of Aunt Jemimia Pancake syrup.  Guess what!!! Except for more additives in the name brand bottle THEY WERE EXACTLY THE SAME! As if that didn't floor me enough, I went to Amazon to check prices.  The brand name was $3.14 for 12 ozs. and  Karo was $2.38 for 16 ozs. (I'm sure the store brand corn syrup is even cheaper, I'll check the price Friday and let you know).
If you have a mind block (Ugh! pour corn syrup on my pancakes!) buy the dark syrup (it has added caramel coloring) put it in a plain, pretty bottle and use less....I guarantee you will not be able to tell the difference.